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Posted on Sat, Apr 7, 2012 : 2:46 p.m.

'It's a good vibe:' Hash Bash attracts people from across the country

By Lisa Carolin

A supporter of legalizing marijuana holds up a sign during the Hash Bash on the campus of the University of Michigan on Saturday.

Chris Asadian | AnnArbor.com

Visitors came from as far away as the West Coast and from as near as the University of Michigan campus to attend Saturday's Hash Bash rally on Diag.

Brandon Baxter, a U-M sophomore, invited family members to experience the Hash Bash.

"I want them to get a taste of fighting for something you believe in," said Baxter. "Ann Arbor was a center of social movements in the 1960s and '70s. It's nice to see a little of that remaining."

"I like hanging out with people who have similar interests," said Samantha Szukhent, who was visiting from Flushing.

Noah Lipsitz and Emily Lorie, both from Southfield, were attending their first Hash Bash. Lipsitz said his mother and Lorie's father attended some of the early Hash Bashes.

"I'm impressed," said Lipsitz. Lorie added, "It's a good vibe."

Kelsey McHugh and Christian Dennis came from Fenton to support the cause of legalizing marijuana.

"I think pot should be governed by the same laws as alcohol," said McHugh.

"I smoke weed a lot and am perfectly functional," said Dennis.

"This needs to be legalized," said Andre Nonnenmacher from Ann Arbor. "Smoking pot is less harmful than taking pills or smoking cigarettes."

Also attending today's rally was a comedy group from the West Coast looking for material for an upcoming television program called "Buzz TV." Chili Challis, a stand-up comedian who has performed in Ann Arbor and who has written for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, was happy to be back in Ann Arbor.

"Everybody knows about the Hash Bash coast to coast," said Challis. "Ann Arbor is progressive and it's a smart city."

Comments

Judy Freedman

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 8:06 p.m.

It was hard to notice the vibe for me because the city was strewn with trash and still is today!

Don B. Arfkahk

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 6:59 p.m.

Tru2Blu76 is right. Benjamin Franklin believed that people should be thrown in prison for their personal choices. As he famously said, &quot;Jail ye who smoketh thy pot; and jail ye who eateth thy cheeseburger, for he costeth thee with elevated health premiums.&quot;

Tru2Blu76

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 4:46 p.m.

Just a word about the word &quot;legalize&quot; -- ALL mind altering drugs including alcohol are CONTROLLED.
RE: &quot;Smoking pot is less harmful than taking pills or smoking cigarettes.&quot; This is just a sample of the kind of statements produced by minds rendered low-functional due to abuse of psychotropic drugs. No different than saying, &quot;Having a few beers is less harmful than getting shot.&quot; Both statements ignore that brain altering and brain damaging are in fact: harmful.
It all boils down to motive: what is the motive of those proposing &quot;legalization&quot; (meaning complete deregulation) of any psychotropic drug? Obviously, those people have one motive: to have unrestricted access to a means of dulling their minds. They want to smoke, inject, snort something that's going to screw up their thinking. Duh!

rsa221

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 3:08 p.m.

Felt the great vibe just passing through. Again, Michigan's hopefully diversifying economy needs a new cash crop (hemp). Btw, Ann Arbor could have more street fairs! :) Smaller than Art Fair, just one street blocked off on a weekend day, like Monroe Street yesterday.

Jon Wax

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 1:24 p.m.

... just for the record: it's not really about the weed.
it's about the peace.
When you look across an ocean of people (and it was an ocean) what you see are people from all different backgrounds, ages, races and more hanging out together in peace. No fighting, no tear gas, no screaming and yelling at each other.
Just citizens enjoying their right to assemble peacefully. LOTS of citizens. Lots of different citizens.
The sad thing is that it happens only once a year. That's why it feels so unfamiliar. For those of you to pass judgement when you either didn't go or don't know... all i can say is you best keep your balance:
it's a long fall off that soapbox you are standing on.
Peace

Tru2Blu76

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 4:51 p.m.

Going all the way for peace: just induce deep coma.
Semi-comatose people, by one definition, are more peaceful than fully awake functional people. That's your premise. No thanks.

YouAreNotAlwaysRight

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 10:50 a.m.

&quot;Smoking pot is less harmful than taking pills or smoking cigarettes.&quot;
And? Pills are available via prescription just as marijuana is.
The statement is completely correct though. The government wasted too much money trying to stop this stupid plant.

N. Todd

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 12:49 p.m.

Marijuana = Still not available by prescription.

Ellis Sams

Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 12:50 a.m.

That people from around the state would come to Ann Arbor, gather in the Diag and listen to ancient hippies drone on about the benefits of pot makes me think that there is hope after all for humankind.

Davidian

Sat, Apr 7, 2012 : 8:07 p.m.

Not something I would involve myself in. But it's clear that marijuana needs to be decriminalized. The old hippie is right. We are not safer because of the war on marijuana. It's plain stupid.